"You are mine, Empress Makeda, you and your kingdom, if you refuse to pay tribute to us, you will feel the wrath of the Blood Drinkers," Bilain said, and the six-foot-tall, lovely, brown-skinned young woman looked at the Empress of Kush, the Holy Kandake, ruler of the most powerful kingdom in Africa, and smiled fearlessly. She stood there, clad in the tattered remains of a white toga, licking her too-sharp white teeth with a tongue far longer and more prehensile than any ordinary woman's tongue ought to be.
The Kushite Imperial Guard, made up of seventeen men and eleven women chosen from Kush's greatest warriors, tensed somewhat. There was something altogether unnatural about the young-looking female entity that practically sauntered into the Throne Room, and absolutely captivated everyone. Normally, they were swift to eliminate any threat to Empress Makeda's safety, but tonight, they didn't quite know what to make of a certain creature...
These elite warriors, trained from birth and tasked with protecting the Empress of Kush at all times brandished their swords and spears, undaunted by the beautiful monster that stood before the Throne. In times that now seemed distant, the beautiful young noblewoman known as Bilain had been the Empress's Favorite, and, according to rumors, the two women were lovers. Not anymore...
In recent months, a fearsome plague had befallen the City of Napata, crown jewel of the Kushite Empire, and many of the surrounding kingdoms. A plague which sent men and women to the Temples of Aspelta, deified King of Kush in ancient times, Father of the Kushite Nation. Panic gripped Kush, and its neighbors. The Afar people, the barbarians of the Punt wastelands, all of them neighboring Kush, were experiencing the same problem. Come nightfall, their sons and daughters would vanish without a trace, as though taken by some mysterious beasts.
A few nights later, the missing men and women would inevitably return to the towns, villages and compounds they once called home...only they were changed. According to eyewitness accounts, the Changed Ones had sharp teeth, and bright red eyes. They came out only at night, to prey on others, especially family members and friends. They left in their wake corpses drained of blood, and a few nights later, those very same corpses would rise, to begin the unholy cycle anew...
"Fiend that wears the body of my beloved Bilain, know this, we of Kush do not fear monsters," said Empress Makeda, speaking with authority and righteous anger. The woman seated on the gold-encrusted throne was quite lovely, with mahogany-hued skin, and a muscular, Amazonian physique as befitting one who was warrior first and politician second. Clad in a white toga and crimson cape, a silvery diadem encircling her noble brow, Empress Makeda of Kush looked beautiful and fearsome. And she absolutely refused to be intimidated, by man or woman, monster or creature.
"You shall pay for this effrontery, little woman, my kind will destroy your paltry little kingdom," Bilain said, and before the Kushite Imperial Guard could react, the creature flung itself at the window, and hurled itself from the sixth floor of the Holy Kher, the Imperial Palace. Nobles and guards alike rushed to the window, in time to see the creature land on the streets of the City of Napata, and disappear in the darkness below. Never before had they seen such primal, supernatural power...
Terrified by what they'd just seen, the noblemen and noblewomen who'd come to the Court of Empress Makeda muttered among themselves. The Empress, sensing her subjects fear and dread, knew that only one course of action was required. As ruler of a great nation, it was her sworn duty to protect her subjects from any and all enemies. The daughters and sons of the Kush Empire did not call the Holy Kandake their Supreme Protector without reason...
"Sisters and brothers, I fear that dark times are upon us, we must prepare for war against monsters, rather than mere men," Empress Makeda said, and the ruler of Kush rose at last. The fantastic display of supernatural power which she'd just beheld certainly didn't appear to have fazed her in any way. Empress Makeda, daughter of King Nedjeh, legendary ruler of the Kush Empire, had nerves of steel. Let man and monster tremble before her might...
"Your Majesty, I believe I can help," came a voice, and everyone turned to watch as a rather unusual person strode into the vast hall, purposefully walking toward the throne. The person in question was a tall, muscular woman clad in armor of burnished bronze, with a helmet made of the same material. Under her armor, the warrior woman's skin was of a rich ebony hue, and her eyes, golden brown and intense, fixed themselves on the woman standing at the throne.
"What is the meaning of this, woman? You are approach her Majesty Empress Makeda, the Holy Kandake herself, without invitation?" said a stocky, dark-skinned man clad in a crimson toga. Abebech of Axum, special advisor to the Empress of Kush, purposefully placed himself between the female stranger and the Empress, as though to protect the latter from the former. The fact that the Kushite Imperial Guard had their lances, swords and bows at the ready did not seem to matter to the old man, a lifelong servitor of the House of Nedjeh.
"Abebech, old friend, please, let her speak," Empress Makeda said, and upon hearing that, Abebech seemed placated...somewhat. The warrior woman genuflected before the Empress of Kush, and as the latter nodded, she rose to her feet. Everyone in the vast hall held their breath as the warrior woman approached the Empress, and stood a few meters from her, an unreadable expression on her beautiful face.
"Your Majesty, I am Feven, daughter of Kidane, and I hail from the village of Bagrawiyah, right outside the City of Meroe, I am here to help rid you of the Blood Drinkers," the warrior woman stated. The Empress looked at the stalwart young woman who stood before her. She searched the young woman's face for markings that would indicate her as member of a familiar nation or kingdom. The Empress knew her people, as befitting the ruler of a nation, and did not recognize this Feven as one of her own...
"I know the people of Meroe, young lady, and you do not resemble them, not fully, are you of mixed ancestry?" Empress Makeda asked, and the young woman sighed deeply and took a breath. Before she could answer, however, the conversation between royal woman and warrior woman was interrupted by Abebech. Evidently, the old advisor hadn't learned his lesson...
